


Bed-Sharing Is Caring

by elirwen



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Era, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic Revealed, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:06:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21954856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elirwen/pseuds/elirwen
Summary: The winter is cold and bed-sharing convenient. Feelings though, those are less convenient.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 50
Kudos: 1186
Collections: Camelot Drabble -- Holiday Exchange Fest 2019





	Bed-Sharing Is Caring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [schweet_heart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/schweet_heart/gifts).



> Written for schweet_heart as part of Camelot Drabble Holiday Exchange 2019.
> 
> I might have strayed from the original prompt a bit but hopefully not too much. Happy holidays!

“I don’t think I’ll ever feel warm again,” Merlin mutters, pushing his hands as close to the fire as he dares. 

“Definitely not in those damp clothes,” Arthur comments, lounging in his chair, a goblet of mulled wine in his hand. 

“All my spare clothes will be so cold. And just to think of undressing…” Merlin shivers. 

“Hmmm,” Arthur hums, caught on the last word.

“We used to huddle together under a pile of blankets when it was this freezing. We wouldn’t get out unless it was absolutely necessary,” Merlin says, wistfulness in his voice. 

“Some do it here too,” Arthur says, imagining Merlin sleepy and warm under the covers. “We could,” he adds on a whim. Must be the wine loosening his tongue.

“What?” Merlin turns from the fire, staring at Arthur as if he grew a second head. 

“You could warm my bed,” Arthur says, taking a big gulp of his wine so that he can blame it for the blush building on his cheeks. “It’s fairly common.”

“You’re serious,” Merlin says, not as a question but not with total certainty either. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” 

***

“Quit stalling and get over here,” Arthur calls out when it’s obvious Merlin is taking way too much time changing into one of Arthur’s night shirts. “If you’re as cold as an icicle when you get to bed I’ll kick you right out.”

It’s an empty threat and they both know it, but it prompts a chuckle from Merlin and Merlin himself emerges from behind the changing screen, so it served its purpose well.

***

“My god, your legs are absolutely freezing,” Arthur yelps as he wrangles Merlin into the position of a little spoon.

“Sorry,” Merlin says and attempts to pull away.

“Keep still, would you?” Arthur says and holds Merlin close.

***

“What did you do cooped up in bed for days?” Arthur asks, pleasantly warm from both the wine he drank earlier and his current company.

“Mostly we just dozed off. Or talked,” Merlin says.

He’s finally fully relaxed into Arthur’s hold. He was as tight as a string when he first slid under the covers. He was jumpy too, flinching at the slightest of Arthur’s movements.

“We’d come up with stories to pass the time. Will had the craziest ideas...” Merlin’s voice trails off.

“You were good friends,” Arthur says, knowing that ‘sorry’ wouldn’t mean a thing. It can’t bring people back from the dead.

Merlin nods and pulls the blanket closer. 

“Were you…” Arthur starts.

“What?” Merlin asks when he realizes Arthur isn’t about to finish his question.

“Were you together?”

“Just friends,” Merlin says.

Arthur holds him tighter, hoping his silent support will be understood.

“But… We might have… fooled around… a bit.” Merlin adds. “Maybe more than a bit.”

“Like the proper village bumpkins,” Arthur says and earns himself a muttered “prat” and a swat on the arm.

They fall silent again but it’s a different kind of silence this time, the freshly shared knowledge hanging in the air. Arthur feels his heartbeat rise and, yes, it’s not the only thing that is rising at the moment. 

He wonders if Merlin can tell. If he’s similarly affected. He moves his hand barely an inch lower on Merlin’s stomach and a shaky breath escapes Merlin’s lips.

“We could fool around… a bit,” Arthur murmurs into Merlin’s ear.

“A bit?” Merlin asks with a short breathless laugh.

“Maybe more than a bit?”

***

“Ah, Arthur, please!” Merlin whines, pressing his hips forward to get more friction from Arthur’s exploring hand. 

“Have patience,” Arthur says, leading his hand away from Merlin’s clothed cock, under the sleepshirt, up his inner thigh, bypassing his cock and roaming over his lower belly, playing with the coarse hair he finds there. 

Merlin laughs and squirms when Arthur discovers a particularly ticklish spot close to his hip. 

“Stop, stop,” he pleads when Arthur abuses the knowledge relentlessly. 

In blind need to escape, Merlin rolls forward and gets tangled in the blankets, pulling them away from Arthur’s body as he nearly tumbles off the bed, catching himself at the last second. 

“Get back here, you dolt,” Arthur orders. “It’s bloody cold.”

“I’ll go back to my room to freeze to death if you try tickling me again,” Merlin says, gathering his composure and all the blankets around himself like a nest.

“Alright,” Arthur sighs. “Just let me under those covers.”

What he doesn’t expect is Merlin pouncing at him and straddling him, taking his breath away in more ways than one, tucked under the warm covers as per his wish.

***

“Are you alright?” Arthur asks, noticing Merlin’s slight limp as he enters the room carrying their dinner. 

“It’s nothing,” Merlin says with a smile. “You know how I am.”

And Arthur does so he doesn’t think about it any more.

***

“Gods, don’t stop, don’t stop,” Arthur pleads, bucking into Merlin’s fist as he feels Merlin’s cum land on his stomach, feels Merlin’s grip on their cocks faltering in the onslaught of pleasure.

He’s so close but still too far, willing the third orgasm of the night to rise and swallow him whole but the pressure is not enough, the friction too soft. 

“No,” he whines when he feels the near-orgasm fading.

Merlin is laughing into his ear, still panting from his orgasm.

“Have patience,” he parrots Arthur’s words from the night before, the cheeky sod. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

***

“Where did this come from?” Arthur asks, gently circling a large bruise on Merlin’s side that he only just noticed. “Did I do that?”

“Had a bit of a collision in the hallway. Don’t worry about it,” Merlin mumbles into the pillow.

Arthur frowns but doesn’t press further.

***

Winter nights are amazing, Arthur decides, warm, happy, sated. There should be nothing but winter nights from now on. Just winter nights and fooling around.

***

“I walked into a door,” Merlin says before Arthur can ask.

“Is it the winter that makes you this clumsy?” Arthur steps close to him, assessing the small cut on Merlin’s lower lip that has caused considerable swelling.

“Must be,” Merlin says, his lips brushing Arthur’s fingers, and smiles.

There’s something off about Merlin’s cheer. It doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

There’s also something off in Arthur’s chest, tightness spreading through at the sight of Merlin hurt.

***

“I can’t move,” Merlin mumbles, half draped over Arthur, his softening cock still pressed against Arthur’s thigh.

“Then don’t move,” Arthur says, letting his hand roam over Merlin’s skin in a gentle caress.

He could stay like this forever. With Merlin pliant in his arms, enjoying the pleasant fluttering of warmth coursing through his veins that he resolutely refuses to name. 

“I need to put out the candles,” Merlin says but doesn’t move to pull away.

“Would this be a good time to tell you I know about your magic?”

Tension seeps into Merlin’s body, his breathing growing shallow. He stays still, doesn’t even open his eyes. Just lies in Arthur’s embrace, paralysed by shock and fear.

“I wouldn’t have invited you to my bed if you didn’t have my complete trust,” Arthur says, rubbing small circles over Merlin’s lower back, and waits.

“How long have you known?” Merlin asks, timid, barely audible. 

“Ever since you shouted a spell into my ear to save my life,” Arthur says. “You were hurt then too. Your first battle wound.” He trails his fingers over the faint scar on Merlin’s arm.

“That’s been ages ago,” Merlin says, tension slowly leaving his body. “You never let on that… I mean… You still raved about evils of sorcery.” Slight hint of accusation in his voice.

“To keep up appearances, yes,” Arthur says. “To keep my reckless, treasonous manservant out of danger.”

“Makes sense I suppose,” Merlin says and puts out the candles with a single uttered word.

Arthur can do nothing but laugh at this display of pure Merlinness. 

The pleasant fluttering in his chest fights harder to be named.

***

“What happened?” Arthur asks the moment he reaches Gaius’ chambers, slightly out of breath after running here all the way from his own rooms.

“I slipped on the ice and fell,” Merlin says, his voice a bit shaky. 

“If by slipped you mean you got pushed around by some guy until you stumbled and fell and hit your head hard enough to pass out,” Gwaine counters.

“What? Who did it?” Arthur demands to know, crossing the room and watching Gaius carefully wrapping bandages around Merlin’s head. 

“I yelled at the guy when I saw what happened. He took off,” Gwaine says. “I wish I could have followed that scum but I had to get Merlin here.”

Merlin remains silent, his eyes trained on the floor.

***

Arthur thinks about the past few days, about Merlin’s sudden increase in clumsiness. That wasn’t clumsiness at all. He shouldn’t have let Merlin dismiss his worries so easily the last few days. He should have listened to his instincts when he felt something wasn’t quite right.

What is he supposed to do now?

***

“Why would you lie?” Arthur asks.

They are alone now. Behind the closed door of Arthur’s chambers. 

He’s still surprised Gaius didn’t argue with him when he suggested warmth of the royal chambers would better suit Merlin’s current needs. Of course, Gaius knew Merlin has been staying with Arthur the past few nights. And judging by the knowing look Arthur was given as he helped Merlin stand and kept himself close in case Merlin needed Arthur’s support, Gaius already came to some sort of a conclusion. Probably the same conclusion Arthur himself was avoiding at all costs.

“I’m just a servant. Stuff like this happens all the time. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it,” Merlin says while Arthur fetches their night clothes.

That’s another lie. Merlin wouldn’t just passively endure abuse. Not under normal circumstances. 

“He could have killed you,” Arthur says, the words themselves making dread rise in his chest.

He busies himself with helping Merlin to strip. The act isn’t very different from what they did the night before, yet it feels more intimate when it’s not driven by lust.

“Who’s been hurting you?” he asks softly, adjusting the night shirt he helped Merlin pull on. 

Merlin stays resolutely silent.

Why must he be so stubborn? Why must he always think of others before himself? 

Why must he own Arthur’s heart?

There it is. The final admission. Finally free to wreak havoc in Arthur’s mind.

“He can’t go around unpunished. Attack on you is an attack on the crown,” Arthur says, his voice steady and resolute, pushing his inner turmoil into the background.

“I’m just a…” Merlin starts.

“You’re my manservant. My closest confidant,” Arthur says. “And tell me, Merlin, who am I?”

“A prat?”

Ah, Arthur smiles, they’re getting on a more familiar ground. 

“I am the king. Which means you outrank most people in this castle. Even some of the nobles,” Arthur says, following Merlin under the covers. “Which you should already know because I told you before.”

“Will you promise not to do anything stupid if I tell you?” Merlin asks, melting against Arthur’s body as he’s spooned from behind.

“I never do anything stupid,” Arthur murmurs against the bandage wrapped around Merlin’s head. The smell of herbal ointment hidden under the cloth is weirdly soothing.

“I’m serious,” Merlin says, moving Arthur’s hand from where it rests on his hip to press it against his stomach.

“I stand by my statement.” 

Merlin sighs and Arthur smiles, knowing he’s won.

“It was one of the nobles from Essetir.” 

“Which one?”

“I’m not telling you that,” Merlin says, his grip on Arthur’s hand tightening. “We can’t risk angering them. It might ruin our chances for Lot agreeing to the peace treaty.”

Arthur presses his face to the back of Merlin’s neck. 

Of course this would be the reason why Merlin didn’t tell him. Of course he’s right about the treaty. Of course Arthur wants to punish the man who dared hurt his… his… He groans. Don’t use the word. He can’t use the word. That way lies madness.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin whispers and Arthur groans again. 

He can’t go on like this.

He pulls away just so he can lean over Merlin, to look him in the eyes that shine with confusion. He caresses his face, leans close enough to breathe the same air, watches Merlin’s lips part, confusion giving way to anticipation. 

They’ve never kissed before. Not on the lips. Not outside of the haze of primal pleasure.

If he seals their lips, everything will change. He will step on a path he’s been forbidden to follow. It would be stupid to charge forward into the unknown, trampling the rules as he goes.

But he never promised to not do anything stupid, did he?

***

“I won’t ask for his name again,” Arthur whispers against Merlin’s lips, his own tingling from the long minutes of ebb and flow of their first kiss. “All I ask is, when they’re leaving, send a spell his way, something that won’t truly harm him but will make his journey miserable. Something he won’t even think to attribute to magic.”

“That I can do,” Merlin says with a grin.

***

Every night is amazing, Arthur decides, warm, happy, loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and/or kudos are ♥
> 
> [My tumblr,](http://tumblr.com/blog/elirwen)


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